The Magician

2042009

The Magician is the second instalment of the six-part series The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel and a continuation to the introductory novel, The Alchemyst.

We follow twins Sophie and Josh Newman with Nicolas Flamel and the great vampire warrior, Scathach to Paris. In their heels are their enemies Niccolo Machiavelli and Dr. John Dee. They continually evade them and Flamel is about to unite with the Comte de Francois Saint Germain and his wife, Joan of Arc for help. Sophie needs to discover her Fire power and it needs to be learned the right way. While the chase is on, Flamel is fiercely guarding the twins because one of them haven’t Awakened their powers yet. If it is Awakened, he is concerned that it is done the wrong way and the two destined saviour turn to indestructible forces, that can bring the human race to a screeching doom. Or worse, they can turn against each other. Before getting to Paris, The Book of Abraham landed in the wrong hands but not until two vital pages have been torn from it. Now the unawakened Josh holds it close and no one knows why Flamel had a powerless human protect it.

In the meantime, Perenelle Flamel is captive in Alcatraz by the power draining Sphinx. She needs to escape soon or she will never see her husband again. Although she is one of the dreaded Sorceress, her captors are successful in putting a leash on her. But not until she summons one of her remaining ability: the power to call onto ghosts. In the dank confines of her jail she meets the ghost of Miguel De Ayala and an enemy she once had a mountain crash on.

Back in France, Josh grows doubtful of Flamel’s intentions. He tries to convince his twin to run away and instead turn to Dr. Dee who seemed to mean well. Yet Sophie is adamant to stay with the Alchemyst. She understands her twin’s confusion but because she has the Witch of Eldon’s memory, she knows that Flamel is the right ally.

Desperate to snatch the twin, Machiavelli and Dee sends the Valkyries out with the soul devouring Nidhogg. Knowing that the Valkyries are sworn enemies of Scathach the plan is to kill the warrior to make them vulnerable during combat. However, they failed to measure the strength of Joan of Arc. Instead, the plan fails and the Valkyries are defeated. Josh was able to incapacitate Nidhogg by using Excalibur’s brother sword and Sophie was able to lock the Valkyries in an icy tomb. Yet their triumph is met with one big failure: amidst the chaos, Dr. Dee’s right-hand man Dagon successfully drags Scathach to the bottom of the Seine River.

With one defender short and the weakening strength of Flamel and Sophie, they lose Josh to Machiavelli and Dee. They bring him to the Catacomb of Paris and calls onto the God of War, Mars. Here they beseech him to Awaken Josh’s power. He agrees but not before Josh commits to an unnamed payment to be remunerated in the future. Realizing that Josh has a twin, Mars gives him a gift but that too is unknown to Josh.

The Magician: The Secret of The Immortal Nicholas Flamel is a fast paced, riveting adventure that summons people from the past and revives mythology with stirring twist and fluidity.

The book weaves myths, fact, history, and geography all too well that we can dive deep into it without the tedium of boring lectures. Truth be told the book has no dull moments. Flipping from chapter to chapter will be met with ease and excitement and the 500-page novel sinuously gait with maintained intrigue. It never disappoints which makes it so difficult to put down. Names from the past like King Arthur, The Battle of Ragnarok, Phobos and Deimos, Atlantis and more, are brought to factual settings matched with full action and suspense. Somehow the story gets better and better – I advise that you read the first one, The Alchemyst. The Magician: The Secrets Of The Immortal Nicholas Flamel is a myriad of surprises, fascinating imagination and well written fantasy.

To sum up my review, I applaud the author Michael Scott for being a master storyteller. He is indeed an authority on folklore and mythology.

Notes:

The Magician: The Secrets Of The Immortal Nicholas Flamel (sequel to The Alchemyst: The Secrest Of The Immortal Nicholas Flamel

Wrtten by Irish author Michael Scott

Published by Delacorte Press an imprint of Random House

ISBN 0385733585

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[…] thinking aloud created an interesting post today on The MagicianHere’s a short outlineThe Magician is the second instalment to the six-part series The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel and a continuation to the introductory novel, The Alchemyst. We follow twins Sophie and Josh Newman with Nicolas Flamel and the great vampire warrior, Scathach to Paris. In their heels are their enemies Niccolo Machiavelli and Dr. John Dee. They continually evade them and Flamel is about to unite with the Comte de Francois Saint Germain and his wife, Joan of Arc for help. Sophie needs t […]

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